Kanako Urashima
Kanako is very focused and organized person. Not to say that she doesn't ever lose her temper, but rather that she is ordinarily not the type to just jump into action on the spur of the moment, preferring instead to create a game plan. She will often talk her ideas over with Kuro, as a way to determine whether or not something is the best course of action. Kanako also has a business plan for the inn she hopes to one day open, complete with how many rooms, who is allowed to work there and who isn't, and what the style of decor is. She is also extremely confident, knowing what she wants and striving to reach her goals. She believes that eventually she will get what she wants, having confidence in her ability to obtain it. Kanako is an extremely possessive and jealous person, having what most people would call the, "This is mine! Hands off!" mentality that many would expect of a child and not a grown adult. If she believes something is hers she will endeavor to keep others away from it so she can have it all to herself. For years this referred to her brother Keitaro, who she considered to be her future husband. When she sees someone 'messing' with something of 'hers' she gets very angry and feels that she has to get it back from them at any cost. In Keitaro's case, this would often mean that if he got hurt, so be it so long as she got him back. She is also lacking in people skills, as she usually conducts herself professionally when dealing with other people. This can lead many of the Hinata tenants to feel uncomfortable around here, as they don't think that they can ask her for help if they have a problem as she is so distant. History When Kanako was very young both of her parents died in a car accident caused by a drunk driver who collided with them during a bad rain storm. Because she was in the car with them, she attained several injuries such as a broken arm, several cuts and bruises, and a gash on her forehead. To this day there is a scar along her hairline from this accident, which is the primary reason why she wears her hair with bangs. Instead of being placed into foster care she was adopted by the Urashima Family, who were friends with her father. At first she felt like an outsider despite the Urashimas' being very nice and welcoming to her. It was the son, Urashima Keitaro, who finally managed to bring her out of her shell. His kindness and understanding nature caused her to be able to move on from her parent's death and accept the Urashimas' as her new family. However, instead of beginning to view Keitaro as the brother she should have, she began to see him in a romantic light. As she was so young this was more of a childlike infatuation that her adopted parents thought was cute more than strange. One day she and Keitaro made a promise that when they grew up they would open an inn together. Unknown to Kanako, who believed that this meant as husband and wife, Keitaro had simply meant as brother and sister. From that day Kanako vowed that she would learn to be the perfect inn hostess and wife for her brother. Kanako was eventually split up from Keitaro when she was sent to live with a distant relation of hers who had decided that she wanted to try her hand at parenting. Although the girl liked Makoto-obaa-san alright, she missed Keitaro and the other Urashimas’. So much so that she even refused to change her name from Urashima in an effort to remain connected to them despite the distance. It was then that she met Kuro, who came to her one day when she was feeling especially depressed about the move. She quickly came to like the cat and decided to keep him as a pet so that she would always have someone to talk to when she felt down. As the meeting had infused her with new energy and a desire to see Keitaro again, she began to formulate a plan. In a desire to reunite with her family and keep her promise to her brother she began to learn the ins and outs of running a traditional Japanese inn in her spare time. She studied hard, and even visited the Hinata Sou several times over the following summers in order to learn from Urashima Hina. Hina, who saw something promising in the girl, also began to teach her the Urashima Style of Jujutsu, wanting to pass it along to someone else in the family. Kanako learned the difficult techniques one by one, working hard to master them, as she believed that one day they may come in handy to help her get Keitaro back. At the age of seventeen, newly graduated from high school and ready to attend university for a business degree, Kanako was called to the Hinata Sou. Apparently Keitaro, who had been acting manager, was abroad and Hina needed someone else to take over until he got back. Overjoyed that she would be reunited with her love she jumped at the chance, packed up her belongings, and took the very next train with Kuro to the apartments. Plot Because she hadn’t been at the Sou in several years she was dismayed to learn that it had been transformed from an inn into a set of apartments for, as far as she was concerned, rejects. In order to be in a better position to investigate she disguised herself as one of the residents, Naru. While in disguise she proceeded to search several rooms, physically check Kitsune’s breast size, Shinbou’s panties, and Motoko’s sexual preference. She was quickly discovered, however, when the real Naru returned to the apartments. Kanako explained to everyone that she was the new manager in Keitaro’s absence, and told the residents that she was planning on shutting the apartments down in order to restore the building to the inn that she remembered. As her explanation was incredibly lacking, and because she had hired a construction crew, the residents had come to the conclusion that Kanako wanted to completely destroy the building. So, in an effort to stop her, they tried to disrupt the construction process. To stop them Kanako was forced to subdue them individually, revealing the skills that she had inherited from Hina. She explained her plans to them again, telling them that they may stay so long as they agreed to work as for the inn, though none of the girls were willing to do so. Soon only Naru and Kanako remained at Hinata Sou, although the other girls did eventually come back. Kanako, misunderstanding many of the things that the girls told her about Keitaro, decided that she wanted to try and get rid of them in order to have Keitaro all to herself. Her efforts were increased dramatically when she learned about her brother’s ‘Promise Girl’ and that it was not her. It was only Keitaro’s return that saved Hinata Sou from being completely destroyed by the fighting that was taking place. When she learned that Keitaro had feelings for someone she believed that person to be Naru and began to challenge the older girl whenever she could. Eventually she lured Keitaro to the Forbidden Annex where he confessed his feelings, believing her to be the girl he liked. Once the Annex’s magic was broken Keitaro told Kanako in no uncertain terms that although he cared for her, he only saw her as a sister, no matter how she might feel about him. Heartbroken by this news, and the subsequent falling out the two of them had, Kanako fell into a depression. Once again, it was Keitaro who pulled her out of it, by telling her that she would always be his family, no matter what. Eventually she learned that it was not Naru he had feelings for, but was instead Otohime Mutsumi. When she found this out she hadn't been nearly as surprised as she thought she would be, and although she disliked the turtle lover, she decided not to attack her. Because she realized that if she continued to harass Keitaro or the girl he liked than he would just end up hating her. And that was something she just couldn't bear to have happen. Still, that didn’t stop her from occasionally getting into fights with the other Naru, who she just didn't like much after the girl went against her when she wanted to keep Kanako from shutting down the apartments. She also occasionally gets into brawls with some of the other Hinata Sou residents when they annoy her, refuse to listen to what she is saying, or when they are generally causing problems. And besides, a part of her held out hope that one day Keitaro would realize his mistake and love her. With that in mind she enrolled at Tokyo University and permanently moved into the apartments, in order to stay close to him. Determined to show Keitaro his mistake, she poured all of her energy into her studies, and managed to graduate within five years. At some point during her stay at Hinata Sou she learned her cat’s secret; that he was really Kye Guard and not truly a cat at all. This was a lot to take in, but as she had felt something off about him ever since they had met, it didn’t take long before Kanako accepted Kye for who he really was. Admittedly it was more difficult to accept his budding relationship with Motoko and his family, but she did try her best to be supportive. Over the next few years Kanako’s affection for Keitaro diminished, and although she still holds feelings for him, they are not nearly as strong as they once were. She has grown more accepting of his feelings for another girl, and is proud that she hasn't harassed her at all since making her decision to lay off. Now when she stalks him, it is more in a desire to get attention than to get him to agree to marry her, as sometimes she feels that he pays too much attention to other people and not nearly enough to her. As she is still living at the Hinata Sou and working there part time she knows that she should probably move on and start a real life of her own, she cannot quite bring herself to do so until there is absolutely no hope for her and Keitaro. Until the day when that happens, she is determined to remain close by. Relationships Keitaro Urashima Naru Narusegawa Motoko Aoyama Powers & Abilities Ventriloquism Kanako is an accomplished ventriloquist. She is able to copy a voice -- or use her own -- and make it seem like it is coming from somewhere other than where she is. When she first came to Hinata Sou she used this to try and keep Keitaro and Naru apart, and then Keitaro and Mutsumi, although now she primarily uses it to keep the apartment residents in line; or at least as much as possible. Impersonations & Disguises Kanako is also very good at disguising herself as someone else. She can take on the form of another person and then talk and act just like them. She normally uses this only to disguise herself as another girl as it is much more difficult to imitate a man's voice. The downside is that while she can mimic mannerisms she has seen, she cannot copy those she hasn't. This leads to those who know the person she is impersonating to realize that she is not really them. Martial Arts Skills Though not an actual power, Kanako has learned and further developed the Urashima Style of Jujutsu. For whatever reason this style consists mostly of bondage moves, such as the 'Brimstone Turtle Binding' and the 'Southern Isle Hog Tie Love Affair'. Other than these she also knows several punches and kicks that she uses to help her fight off unwanted affection. Or, more often than not, when she is fighting with the other Girls Dorm residents. These include the 'Urashima Falling Leaf Technique' and the 'Urashima Reflection Echo'; both of which are used primarily to reflect attacks back on the one who sent them. Trivia *In the anime, Kanako’s appearance is often accompanied by the sound of a bell carried on the tail of her cat, Kuro. *Kanako as a child looks almost identical to Nodoka Miyazaki from Mahou Sensei Negima. *During her investigations of the apartments, Kanako managed to find and acquire Mecha-Tama Zero and used it on various occasions against the Hinata girls. In the anime she finds and acquires the mini-Mecha-Tamas to use against the residents instead. *She still enjoys stalking Keitaro even though she knows he has chosen another woman over her. *It is apparent that Kanako views Naru and Motoko as rivals when it comes to fighting. How she feels towards the new tenants of the dorm has not been made known. Also See *Hinata Sou Inn *Hinata Girls Tenants *Motoko Aoyama *Naru Narusegawa